H L Langeh
langehh17@gmail.com
River Sand or Natural sand is a readily available construction material but its resource is very scarce corresponding to the demand in a Himalayan region like the JK UT. Rivers produce Exclusive Sand Deposits (ESD’s) in rare geological environments but by and large they generate and transport the earth particles of diverse nature derived from the variety of rocks disintegrated during the course of their journey from the higher reaches to the plain areas. These particles form sand, silt, clay, gravels, pebbles and cobbles with boulders in varying proportions, collectively known as River Borne Deposits (RBD), commonly termed as River Bed Material (RBM) which constitute an economically significant, major material, used for building infrastructure.
In Jammu region, the Basantar River and its tributaries namely Rui Khad and Devak River in Nud and Koulpur localities of Samba District are the major producer of sand resources that not only cater the domestic demand of the home district but also support the needs of adjoining districts like Jammu & Kathua and distantly located districts like Ramban and Rajouri. Quality sand located in Nikki Tawi around Badyal Brahmana village in R. S Pura Tehsil and in Aik nallah flowing through various parts of Bishnah Tehsil form the known sources in Jammu District. The exclusive sand producing sites have also been earmarked in Chenab River flowing through Kanthan areas of Reasi District are very productive. Many more, economically potential sites could have been identified and mapped in the adjoining areas which remained unutilized because of inaccessibility issues. Considering the economic potential and the demand, possibility of approach issues can be explored by devising the mechanically engineered designs such as pulley system or by constructing the specific roads for retrieving the considerable reserves of sand after conducting proper techno economic feasibility studies. Similar kind of exclusive sand deposits identified in the Mighty Chenab River flowing in the jurisdiction of Doda offer good resources for meeting the needs of constructional projects by relaxing the means and modes of extraction within the statutory framework. Noticeably, some sites are also mappable in the Chenab River flowing in the jurisdiction of Akhnoor which need attention for conductance of proper mapping and feasibility studies and can prove to be very productive.
Normally, by means of water action which act as natural transportation agent, all the sand deposits are easily replenishable aftermath the good spells of seasonal monsoons provided these are exploited within the guided principles of existing Sand Mining Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change (MOEF & CC) and the instructions imparted from time to time for proper conservation of the resources while maintaining environmental norms. But these limited sand resources are being exploited beyond the permissible limits as compared to the replenishable quantities observed in the rivers due to the exponential growth in the infrastructural activities in the JK UT during the recent years despite the stringent measures imposed by the regulatory authorities. The fact remains that the state of over exploitation of the river bed resources resultantly leads to the general degradation of river environments. Amongst the most common adverse impacts of over extraction of river sand and gravels includes lowering of ground water levels, erosion of nearby land or river bank, and destruction of aquatic life essential for maintaining ecosystems.
Contrary to the statutory environmental norms, the continuous demand of sand and gravel is on the rise in view of the envisaged infrastructure developmental activities. Due to rapid development strides and upcoming of larger number of constructional projects in the JK UT such as widening of National Highways, Ring Road, Delhi-Katra Expressway, Railway Construction Works, Border Road Organization, PMGSY road projects, the prestigious AIIMS and other projects of local importance the demand of minor minerals and sand and other building materials has enormously been increased. Imposition of blanket ban on the extraction of sand and gravel would be impracticable which can lead to shortage crisis of the construction material and would eventually halt the process of development in the UT. A well processed Manufactured Sand as partial or full replacement to river sand is the need of the hour as a long-term solution, which has already gained prominence in some of the southern States. Amongst, the M-Sand producing states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, the Karnataka state takes lead which produces 20 million metric tons annually and have 164 manufacturing units.
M-Sand is produced by crushing of rocks, quarry stones to a stipulate size of 150 microns. M-Sand is an artificial sand produced from crushing hard rocks into small sand sized angular shaped particles, washed and finely graded to be used as construction aggregate. It is a superior alternative to River Sand for construction purposes. In order to arrive at the required grain size, existing coarser hard rock deposits are crushed in a series of crushers and the crushed material is segregated in different fractions as suited to various construction activities. The sand obtained through this process is further refined by removing fine particles and impurities through sieving and washing. The literature review revealed that the M-Sand has higher concrete strength compared to river sand. M sand concrete has a marginally higher bond strength, over those of river sand. It has zero silt. Since M-Sand is free of impurities such as clay, dust and silt and has denser particle packing than natural sand particles thereby reducing the voids in aggregate and hence saves cement requirement in concrete production.
The source rocks or raw material used in the M-Sand includes Granites, Gneisses, Basalt, Trap rocks, Quartzite and other suitable constituent rock that conforms to the specifications depending upon its chemical characteristics. The J&K, having been located in Himalayan Region, is endowed with huge potential of such rocks that can be used for M-Sand production. If such mineral resource is properly developed and utilized it can not only meet the domestic needs but has the capacity to export the finished products to the neighbouring states like Delhi, Punjab and Haryana thereby generating the revenue manifold. These source rocks are identifiable in Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Kathua, Rajouri, Reasi, Udhampur and Poonch in Jammu region; and Anantnag, Badgam, Kulgam, Kupwara, Baramulla in Kashmir region.
Expectedly, by putting the M-Sand practices on the analogy of other states we can reduce the dependence of river sand and allied building material and save the rivers and its surrounding environments from degradation. Usage of M-Sand can drastically reduce the cost since like river sand, it does not contain impurities and wastages is nil since it is made with modern technology and machinery. Once the M-sand becomes more popular in the construction industry of JK UT, the demand for river sand and illegal sand mining would come down. Thus, for having a flagship project in the Mining Sector, in JK UT, the following suggestions are made for breakthrough in the envisaged endeavour:
* Survey and Mapping of the rock resources in the entire UT of JK.
* Introducing, pre-embedded mining blocks, where essential clearances (environmental, mining plans) are secured before auction thereby allowing immediate operation of mining blocks for readily availability of raw material to the envisaged M-Sand Units.
* Commencement of Research and Development initiatives to decide the utility of the rock sources.
* Handholding with the States who has already industrialized the mining of rock sources for operation of M-Sand Units.
* Formulation of a separate M-Sand Policy in the UT.
* Reduction on royalty for M-sand units to promote the production of M-sand and business enterprise.
* Extending Loan facility for purchase of Machinery and Special Industrial Incentive to the unemployed educated aspirant youths for startups.
* Reservation of few blocks for M-sand plants only as end user category.
* Dedication of Single Window System for ambitious Project Proponents for seeking essential clearances from the stake holding organization.
* Encouraging the use of Manufactured sand in Public Construction Works, if possible, shall make mandatory to use Manufactured sand.
(The author is a Former Joint Director, Geology & Mining, J&K, UT)
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